Domestic violence is a workplace matter

If a colleague or employee is experiencing violence at home, it doesn't just affect their personal life. Many victims of family violence need support at work as they may experience:

their abuser stalking them or attempting to contact them at work, making them feel unsafe

loss of concentration, low self-esteem and anxiety which impacts on their work performance and general well-being

disruption to their home life (being made homeless or having to move to a shelter with children are examples) making it hard to physically get to work and maintain regular work hours

physical or mental injuries and/or disabilities as a result of the abuse which mean they can't work, even if they don't have enough sick leave to cover the time they need off

These are just a few examples - each person's experience is unique and they may face different or additional barriers to safety at work.

Domestic and family violence leave clauses

In 2012, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Congress endorsed the following principles in their 'Work, Life, Family' Policy Framework. These principles lay the groundwork for workplaces to provide family violence leave allowances in their Enterprise Agreements:

The views or opinions expressed in websites linked to this site, or in articles not specifically written by the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation.